What advantages do ultrasonic tools offer?
Ultrasonic wall thickness tools give a direct reading of pipewall thickness. This direct reading is not susceptible to vehicle settings or interpretation. As a result, corrosion growth comparisons from one run to the next can be exact. This makes the technique ideal for baseline surveys. Ultrasonic techniques also work well in thick wall pipe, and are the technique of choice in inspecting the very thick walls of nuclear reactor vessels. This makes them the best inspection technology for very heavy wall offshore pipelines. For the detection of cracks, ultrasonic techniques are the very best since ultrasound reflects even tight cracks and does not depend on metal loss to produce a signal. Ultrasonic tools are also very good at finding laminations.
